Precious Little Giardia

Old Bobby Trotts was 49er from the Shakey Bottoms

Panning for gold just like his Pappy'd taught'm

Down by the crick that day was hotter'n the Devil's cigar

And to Bobby's dismay there t'wernt a saloon to be found- near or far

So he dipped his pan in the water and took a sip

Didn't even notice that a flagellated protozoan parasite crossed his lips

Two days later his gut felt it'd been set upon by a mad butchers cleaver

And that's how Old Bobby Trotts died of the Beaver Fever.

Found inscribed on a pioneer outhouse wall

Yes, what thru-hiker blog would be complete without a discussion of the dreaded giardia.  It's an intestinal parasite that is carried by livestock, game animals, and humans and it gets into the water supply via contaminated fecal material.  Thus the reason why it's often wise to either filter your water or treat it with iodine or bleach.

Another common carrier are beavers so when the 'old timey' folk started getting sick from the water found near beaver dams they naturally called it the "Beaver Fever," a name that I simply cannot think about without smiling.   Then again, I don't find the name 'giardia' to sound particularly threatening either- in fact I think it would be pretty if it weren't for all the negative connotations.  It would make a great name for a little girl, don't you think?  

"Come meet the newest edition to the family- our precious little Giardia.  And we mustn't forget her sister Malaria or their brother Typhoid..."

Giardia isn't typically a fatal condition (I suspect Old Bobby Trotts actually died of a terminal case of bad poetry) it just gives you a serious case of diarrhea for a couple of days.  You may suffer weight loss or dehydration if it gets bad enough but it's a self-limiting disease that tends to work itself out- in fact in 50% of cases you won't even have symptoms.

I'm pretty sure I was the proud recipient of Giardia last summer while section hiking the PCT.  I wasn't filtering the water as religiously as I used too and, sure enough, a few days after my return my bowels pretty much turned inside out.  I won't go into the gory details but lets just say I gained compassion for elderly folk who no longer can control their functions.   

I'm actually glad I got Giardia because now I know what to expect.  If it were to happen while on this thru-hike it would be unpleasant, especially with a limited supply of TP, but I could deal with it- I'm not a wimp like Old Bobby Trotts.